INQUESTS into the deaths of the four coal miners killed in the Gleision Colliery tragedy were formally opened and adjourned yesterday.

And later today the first of the funerals for the colliers will be held when 62-year-old Charles Breslin of Walters Road, Cwmllynfell, is laid to rest at a ceremony in Swansea Crematorium.

Neath Port Talbot Coroner Philip Rogers opened the inquests into the miners’ deaths in a brief hearing at Swansea’s Guildhall yesterday.

The four men were trapped when the anthracite drift mine they were working in at Cilybebyll near Pontardawe on September 15 suddenly flooded.

A major rescue effort was mounted but the bodies of Mr Breslin and colleagues Phillip Hill, 45, of Lletty Dafydd, Resolven, Neath, Garry Jenkins, 39, of Graig Twrch, Rhiwfawr near Cwmtwrch and David Powell, 50, of Hodgsons Road, Godre’r Graig were found over the following 33 hours.

Three pitmen, Malcolm Fyfield, Mr Powell’s son Daniel and Mark Lloyd, 45, managed to escape as flood water cascaded into the mine from an underground source.

The inquest heard yesterday that post-mortem examinations showed the men died after being exposed “to flooded pit contents under pressure”.

Mr Rogers adjourned the inquests pending further investigation and reports.

The coroner said: “This is a sad occasion. I am sure we are all very mindful of the sad circumstances of this case and the effect it has had on the deceased gentlemen’s families and the local community.”

A joint investigation into the accident involving the Health and Safety Executive, Wales Office and South Wales Police is ongoing.

Mr Breslin’s funeral will be at Swansea Crematorium at 3pm today while a ceremony for Phillip Hill will be held on Friday at 2pm at Margam Crematorium, Port Talbot.

A funeral service for Garry Jenkins will be held on Saturday at Beulah Chapel, Lower Cwmtwrch, at 11.15am with interment at Gorof Public Cemetery, Ystradgynlais at 12.15pm.

A date has yet to be arranged for David Powell’s funeral.

An appeal fund launched to support the families of the four who died has now raised more than £200,000.

People from across Wales and further afield are involved in fund raising for the appeal fund.

A spokesman for JD Wetherspoon said all its pubs in South Wales had been raising money for the miners’ families.

A company spokesman said: “The Potters Wheel in Swansea will be staging a fundraising event this Sunday with members from the Swansea and Carmarthenshire Campaign for Real Ale branches in attendance.

“The evening, which includes a buffet, will run at the pub in The Kingsway from 7pm onwards and will see local breweries, including Swansea-based Tomos Watkin, showcasing ales and offering samples.

“The Red Lion in Sway Road, Morriston, is hosting a concert by the Morriston Orpheus Choir, as well as local band, Misty, on Sunday October 9, from 7pm onwards.

“The Lord Caradoc in Port Talbot will be staging a charity musical evening this Sunday from 8pm until midnight.”

Also, fans and members of the Treorchy Male Choir have donated £1,100 to the appeal fund.

During the weekend the choir made a return visit to the Pavilion Theatre in Plymouth and made a sizeable donation from their own fee towards the fund.

When the audience at the Pavilion heard of the donation, they organised a bucket collection and the bar staff gave their tips for the evening.

On the journey home last Sunday the choir visited Chepstow RFC where club members also donated.

Choir chairman David Bebb said: “Treorchy Male Choir is part of the very fabric of Wales and the Rhondda Valley and was formed from a union of the coal mining industry and the growth of religious nonconformity.

“Under those circumstances men united in song.

“Despite the everyday hardships, poverty, strikes and frequent accidents – many of which were fatal – it was from the coal mining industry that choirs were formed, giving Wales the universal image as the Land of Song.

“Today in Wales we don’t expect to hear of colliery disasters.

“When the events took place at Gleision Colliery it reminded us very much of the dangers our own choristers as well as our forefathers, went through while working underground, which is why we wanted to contribute towards the fund.”